Airplane

ABSTRACT

An airplane includes a wing on which a sheet of material such as canvas or the like is disposed whereby under flight conditions, the sheet material becomes inflated to provide the required lift to the airplane. An airplane body is supported under the wing and a propellor-driving engine imparts forward motion to the plane so that the on-rushing air passes underneath the wing to inflate the latter and provide the necessary lift for take-off and sustained flight.

United States Patent 1 1 Mochizuki 1 AIRPLANE [76] Inventor: Matsuji Mochizuki, 3391-1 Muramatsu, ShimiZu-shi, Japan [22} Filed: Feb. 20, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 333,798

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 24, 1972 Japan 47-51347 {52] US. Cl. 244/13, 244/D1G. 1 {51] Int. Cl. B64c 3/00 [58] Field of Search... 244/42 R, 13, 153 R, DlG. l

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,135,483 6/1964 Girard 244/42 R 3,250,500 5/1966 Hall 244/153 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,075,314 7/1967 Great Britain 244/D1G. 1

OTHER PUBLICATIONS NASA TN D3940 Low-Speed Wind-Tunnel lnvesv 1 May 28, 1974 tigation of Tension-Structure Parawings. June, 1967, p. 96, FIG. 43.

Plattner, Large Reusable Booster Designs Studied"; Feb. 4, 1963. 'p. 52.

Primary E.\'amim'rDuane A. Regcr Assistant Examiner-Jesus D. Sotelo Atlorney. Agenl, 0r I-'irmFrank J. Jordan [57] ABSTRACT An airplane includes a wing on which a sheet of material such as canvas or the like is disposed whereby under flight conditions, the sheet material becomes inflated to provide the required lift to the airplane. An airplane body is supported under the wing and a propellor-driving engine imparts forward motion to the plane so that the on-rushing air passes underneath the wing to inflate the latter and provide the necessary lift for take-off and sustained flight.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 1 AIRPLANE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to airplanes, and more particularly to an airplane of simplified construction which provides sufficient lifting force and which is easy to fly and to land. The airplane of the present invention is safe to fly and may be used as a sport plane, for example, to fly at low altitudes.

Although the invention is illustrated and described in relationship to a specific embodiment, it is nevertheless not intended to be'limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An airplane includes a wing frame having a front frame member which has a generally parabolic configuration in which two leg portions extend rearwardly of the airplane. A rear frame member joins the two leg portions of the front frame member and a center member generally bridges the centers of the front frame member and the rear frame member. A sheet of material such as canvas or the like is secured over the top ofthe frame and the sheet has a configuration such that it becomes inflated under flight conditions with the amount of inflation generally progressively increasing from front to rear of the frame. The sheet material has a pair of openings at the rear portion in the area of maximum inflation whereby air under the inflated wing passes out through the openings. An airplane body mounting a propeller-driving engine is attached to the underside of the wing.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the airplane shown DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings FIG. 1 shows a wing (a) which is mounted on a body (b) of an airplane.

The wing (a) comprises a frame which includes a front member 2 having a generally parabolic configuration as can best be seen in FIG. 3. The frame also includes a back member 3 which curves slightly outwardly and a center bar 4 which bridges the centers of the front member 2 and the back member 3. The various frame members 2, 3 and 4 are joined to one another to define a unitized frame structure.

A covering material 7 such as canvas or the like is arranged on the frame to cover the latter. The canvas has a configuration such that it will take on or assume the shape shown in the drawings.

The canvas 7 which is secured to the frame has a pair of openings 6, 6 located generally in the area of the connections 5, 5 between the ends of the parabolic front member 2 and the back member 3. Thus it will be seen that the frame and canvas 7 form a wing which becomes inflated as the plane moves or is propelled through the air. The canvas is arranged so that the greatest amount of inflation occurs at the rear portion of the canvas adjacent to the back member 3 of the frame as indicated at 8. Thus when the plane moves through the air, the pressure of the on-rushing air causes the canvas to inflate so that the latter forms an acute triangle as can be seen in the drawings. Also as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the canvas 7 is affixed to the center bar 4 so that under inflated conditions, two triangles are formed on either side of the bar 4 when viewed from the front and rear respectively.

The body (b) of the airplane comprises a base element 10 having fixed supports 9, 9' extending therefrom and secured to the center bar 4 of the wing frame. The base element 10 mounts an engine I] which drives a propeller 12. A seat 14 is provided on the base element 10 for the pilot who is able to control the engine 11 by means of a control lever 13 while sitting in the seat 14.

A vertical tail wing or rudder 18 is pivotally mounted on the rear support 9'. Suitable ropes or control cables 19 are provided between the rudder l8 and pedals 17 which are operable by the pilot for controlling the position of the rudder l8..The pedals 17 are mounted on struts or legs 16 which support front wheels IS.

The horizontal wing (a) extends over the entire body (b) of the airplane.

When the pilot operates the lever 13 to run the engine l1 and thus drive the propeller 12, the airplane moves forward and the on rushing stream of air inflates the wing (a) so as to form, in a side view, an acute triangle with the largest amount of inflation 8 occurring at the back of the frame adjacent the rear frame member. The air escapes from under the inflated wing through the openings 6, 6 in the corners of the wing whereby the wing creates a sufficient lifting force for the plane to take off and become airborne.

In order to control the flight of the plane in terms of providing horizontal flight, gaining altitude, or descending, it is only necessary to control and regulate the speed of the propeller 12 so that at faster speeds of the propeller the airplane will gain altitude while at lower speeds, the airplane will'descend. The airplane will, of course, fly horizontally in sustained flight as desired by controlling the speed of the propeller to provide for such horizontal flight. The pilot can change the direction of flight by operating the foot pedals to thereby pivot and change the angle of the rudder.

From the above description it will be seen that the wing (at) functions as a sail or parachute and is therefore safe for take-off and landings. The construction and arrangement of the wing provides increased lift. This airplane has a simplified construction and is therefore inexpensive to manufacture as a sport plane, cable carrier, or the like while being safe to fly including flight at low altitudes.

While the invention has been described by means of a specific example and in a specific embodiment, I- do not wish to be limited thereto, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claim is:

1. An airplane comprising a wing frame, said wing frame including a front frame member having a gener ally parabolic configuration in which two leg portions extend rearwardly of the airplane, a rear frame member joining said two leg portions of said front frame member, a center member generally bridging the centers of said front frame member and said rear frame member, a sheet of material disposed over the top of said wing frame and secured to said front, center, and rear frame members, said sheet having a configuration in which the sheet becomes inflated under flight conditions above said wing frame with the amount ofinflation generally progressively increasing from front to rear of the frame, said sheet material having means defining a pair of openings at the rear portion thereof in the area of 4 maximum inflation whereby air under the inflated wing passes out through said openings, said openings in said sheet being disposed in the rear comers of the wing adjacent the juncture between said rear frame member and the two legs of said front frame member, said openings being elongated and extending upwardly from the rear corners of the wing, an airplane body. and means rigidly attaching said airplane body to the underside of said frame.

2. An airplane according to claim 1 wherein said rear frame member has a generally arcuate configuration curving generally outwardly.

3. An airplane according to claim 1 wherein said sheet in its inflated condition has a configuration when viewed from the rear of two acute triangles with the apex of both triangles being coincident with said center member of said frame.

' Add Figure 7 to the drawings UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 313- 060 Dated May 28. 1974 Inventor( Matsuji It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Signed and sealed this 3rd day of December 1974,

(SEAL) Attest: McCOYM. GIBSON JR. V; p c. MARSHALL 'DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents F ORM PO -105O (10-69) 

1. An airplane comprising a wing frame, said wing frame including a front frame member having a generally parabolic configuration in which two leg portions extend rearwardly of the airplane, a rear frame member joining said two leg portions of said front frame meMber, a center member generally bridging the centers of said front frame member and said rear frame member, a sheet of material disposed over the top of said wing frame and secured to said front, center, and rear frame members, said sheet having a configuration in which the sheet becomes inflated under flight conditions above said wing frame with the amount of inflation generally progressively increasing from front to rear of the frame, said sheet material having means defining a pair of openings at the rear portion thereof in the area of maximum inflation whereby air under the inflated wing passes out through said openings, said openings in said sheet being disposed in the rear corners of the wing adjacent the juncture between said rear frame member and the two legs of said front frame member, said openings being elongated and extending upwardly from the rear corners of the wing, an airplane body, and means rigidly attaching said airplane body to the underside of said frame.
 2. An airplane according to claim 1 wherein said rear frame member has a generally arcuate configuration curving generally outwardly.
 3. An airplane according to claim 1 wherein said sheet in its inflated condition has a configuration when viewed from the rear of two acute triangles with the apex of both triangles being coincident with said center member of said frame. 